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A school in New York has denied that four black 12-year-old girls were strip-searched in their middle school nurse’s office.

A community group claimed the girls were told to remove their clothes because they seemed ‘hyper and giddy during their lunch hour and were suspected of possessing drugs’.

Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow said the girls felt ‘humiliated’ and ‘ashamed’ when they brought the allegations to a Binghamton’s East Middle School board meeting to demand answers and an apology from staff.

Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow have made posters urging people to believe the girls’ claims (Picture: Facebook)

The group said the girls were questioned and strip-searched by the school nurse and assistant headteacher on January 15.

One girl was allegedly searched in her bra and underwear, while two others were forced to remove their shirt. A fourth student received ‘in-school suspension’ for refusing to remove her clothes, the group claimed.

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A statement read out at the meeting attended by around 200 people said: ‘The children were instructed to remove their clothing, and felt ashamed, humiliated and traumatised by the experience.’

The group issued a list of demands including a stop to strip searches of children and a public apology to the students and community.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the school district said ‘there has been a lot of misinformation being spread through social media from third parties.’

It went on to say ‘no students were strip-searched, nor were they punished as a result of the incident in question, and they were allowed to return to class after being evaluated.’

One girl was alleged forced to strip down to her underwear (Picture: Facebook)

While it did not say specifically what happened to the girls, the district said school staff can conduct physical or medical evaluations if they observe behaviour that is out of character in students.

A medical evaluation ‘may require the removal of bulky outside clothing to expose an arm so that vitals like blood pressure and pulse can be assessed. This is not the same as a strip search,’ the statement said.

It added: ‘School rules say parents have to be informed before anything like this happens.’

Micah Barreiro, president of the Broome Tioga NAACP, gave the school board a list of demands, including removal of the principal, the assistant principal and the nurse who did the searches.

Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow has scheduled a rally at East Middle School on Tuesday afternoon to alert parents and students of their ‘right to refuse invasive and discriminatory searches being conducted by school faculty and staff.’